A British Columbian woman has faced numerous accusations of arson after police said they deliberately caused a series of wildfires in the southeastern province earlier this spring.
Kamloops resident Angela Elise Cornish, 42, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with four counts of arson, according to an RCMP statement. She has been held behind bars pending a bail hearing scheduled for Monday.
Lisa Hudema, a firefighter with the British Columbia Fire Service, said her agency had started working with police after identifying an “area of interest” near Kamloops, where several recent fires were suspected. man-made are “flammable in nature”.
Mounties say they have been warned of Cornish’s alleged links to the fires after someone living in the Lake Monte area who checked for smoke in the nearby hills on April 30 spotted a suspicious blue pickup truck on its way to logging.
Police alerted the community on May 3rd after receiving reports of an unknown person setting fire to cut piles in two places in the Westwold area.
Investigators say more locals have since retired to report similar encounters with a woman-driven pickup truck.
“I want to acknowledge the tremendous help of the people of Lake Monte and Westwald, who have provided our investigators with the valuable information we need to successfully advance this investigation,” said the RCMP Assistant. Brad Howley said in a statement.
All forest fires observed in British Columbia this spring and summer can be reported to the fire service at 1-800-663-5555 or by dialing * 5555 on a mobile phone.
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